It’s easy to fall into clichés when photographing Cable Beach. It is one of the most recognisable beaches in the world. Images of its sunsets—usually with a camel train of tourists darkly silhouetted against the fierce colour—loom from every travel brochure and visitors’ guide.
Simon left the clichés to the advertisers and tour operators. He photographed red ochre sandstone rocks, ragged and weather-beaten against an incoming tide of opalescent water. From the high Surf Club, he captured the immense sweep of the beach, its apparently bland tameness seeming to mask an obscure threat, as if danger was not far away. His images of Roebuck Bay’s famous Staircase to the Moon were deep, rich, velvety blue, not the fiery reds and oranges of the postcards. He caught the bay in a mysterious, melanc
